rombach



F ROMBACH. INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE. APPLICATION FILED JUNE'IH 1918. I ll; t v Patented July 1, 1919.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

v F. ROMBACH.

INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 14. I918.

Patented July 1, 1919.

{SHEETS-SHEET 2.

,F. ROMBACH.

INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 14. 191B.

. Patented July 1, 1919.

F.ROMBACH.

INTERNAL comausnom ENGINE.

APPLI CATION FILED JUNE 14, I918.

Patented July 1, i919.

4 SHEETSSHEET 4.

rnnn noMBAcH,'-or TONAWANDA, NEW Y r. REAGAN AND ONE-FOURTH 'ro ALBE we, new YORK.

RK, .ASSIG'NOR 01E ONE-FOIl'RTI-I TO ROBERT .RT M. EVERHART, BOTH OF NORTH TONA- INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE.

' App'lication filed June 14, 1918. SeriaLNo. 239,975.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRED RoMBAoH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Tonawanda, in the countyfof Erie and State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Internal-Combustion Ention. v This invention relates to an internal combustion engine designed more particularlyfor aeroplanes, although the same is not confined to that use.

One of its objects is to so construct the engine as to utilize the maximum power of the explosions. 7'

A further object is to dispense with the customary. crank shaft with a, view of reducing the liability of breakage of parts and rendering the engine safer for .use on aeroplanes.

Another object is the provision of an engine of this character which shall combine the advantages of high speed and comparatively low fuel consumption.

In the accompanying drawings: 7 Figure 1 is a side elevation of the engine. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section thereof on line 2-2, Fig. 3. Fig. 3 is a top plan view of thesame. Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sec-' 'tion of the engine-cylinder and the pistonactuating cams, showing a different position.

of the parts from that illustrated' in Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a horizontal section on line 55,

Fig. 2. Fig. .6 is a transverse section on line ti -6, Fig. 1. Fig. 7 is a similar section on line 77,Fig.2. v

Similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views. I

1 indicates the cylinder of the engine, 2

the piston, 3 the fuel or mixture-inlet valve These valves may construc-.

and 4 the exhaust valve. be of any-suitable or well known tion and operated by any suitable mechanism. Those shown in thed-rawings areof the rocking or oscillating'type and operated by cams 5, Gmounted'on a'transverse rock shaft 7 supported in bearings 8. These cams bear agalnst rods 9, 10 pivoted attheir opposits ends to rock arms 11, 12, secured t6 .the valve shafts, respectively. 13 indicates a suitable carbureter for supplying fuel to the cylinder,

Instead of utilizing the explosive force of the gas to retract amen suit and gmng Specification of Letters Patent.

gines, of which the following is a specifica- Patented July 1, 191a.

thegpiston' a Working'strokefor this purpose, as in ordinary englnes of this type, the piston after being advanced to compress the explosive mixture is temporarily held stationary and 'the force of the explosion is exerted upon one .or more turbines or other driven elements, Which in turn drive the main shaft of the engine and other parts thereof. Y

In the embodiment of the invention shown in the drawings, the piston is advanced to compress the mixture by what may be termed a compression cam 14 mounted centrally on theshaft 7 and bearing against preventing the rod compression stroke,

an anti-friction roller 15 carried by the rear end of the piston rod 16. lhis rod preferably slides in a fixed guide 17 secured within the cylinder and the rod may also carry a thrust slide 18 located between said guide and the rear end of the piston rod. This slide runs upon the bottom of the cylinder and relieves the piston rod of the downward thrust produced by the compression cam, from binding in the guide 17 As shown in. Figs. 2 and 4, this compression cam has acomparatively long dwell extending over [approximately 180 degrees of its circumference, so as to hold the advanced piston at the end of its forward or during the explosion and for a suitable period thereafter, in order to exert its full force against the turbines hereinafter described. The piston thus acts as a fixed head or abutment which together with the opposing rear head of the cylinder and its wall forms chamber.

The return stroke of the piston is effected by a pair of grooved, cams 19 fixed to the shaft on opposite sides of the companion cam 14: and provided in their opposing'sides w'th cam-grooves 20' which receive antiriction rollers 21 mounted on the journalpin 22 which carries the anti-friction roller 15 of the piston rod. These cam grooves are shaped to return the piston at the proper time and give it the full backward stroke.

Cooperating with the engine-cyli der. and preferably. arranged underneath it are high and low-pressure turbines 23, 24 arranged in separate casings 25, 26 mounted on a base 27, these casings carrying the engine-cylinder and the cam-shaft 7 in the example shown in the drawing; The turbines may be of any approved construction, those an explosion Ill shown having peripheral buckets or shoulders 28 against which the fopoe or pressure of the exploded mixture is exerted. This pressure or exhaust enters the casing of the high pressure turbine through a passage 29 extending from the lower side of the exhaust valve case 30 and arranged in an inclined position, as shown in Figs. 2 and 4, to direct the pressure at the most favorable angle against the shoulders of the turbine. This exhaust or pressure inlet passage extends through an abutment 31 arranged in close proximity to the periphery of said turbine. A similar abutment 32 is arranged within said high pressure casing at its oppositeside,

said casings, an abutment 36 being arranged at the delivery end of said port. At its bottom .the low pressure casing is provided with an exhaust port 37 and immediately inrear thereof with an abutment 38 corresponding to the abutment 31 of the high pressure turbine. The second pressure passage 34 is arranged about sixty degrees beyond the first one 29, so that the force of the explosion isexerted against the high pressure turbine during aboutione sixth of its revolution, after which the remainder of its force is exerted against the low pressure turbine through the passage 34. By this construction and arrangement, the turbines are propelled not only by the powerful impulses resulting from the explosions, but also by the expansive force of the exploded gas.

While two turbines are shown in the drawings, a greater orv less number could obviously be used without departing from the invention.

39 indicates the main driving shaft of the engine to which power is transmitted from the turbines by any suitable means. In the.

construction shown, the shafts of the turbines are connected together-by'spur gears 40, 41, and the driving shaft is connected with the shaft of the low pressure turbine by similar gears42, 43. The cam shaft is also driven from the shaft of the low-pressure turbine by any suitable means, the preferred transmission being a sprocket chain 44 and sprocket gears 45, 46.

The operation of the engine is as follows: On thereturn stroke of the piston which is effected by the cams 19, a charge of fuel is drawn into the cylinder in the customary manner, and on the forward stroke of the 'piston which isefl'ected'by the cain 14, the fuel m xture is compressed in the ordinary way. The moment the maximum compression is reached, the charge is ignited by the customary spark plug 47 and the pressure of the explosion first acts upon the high pressure turbine 23 through the passage 29, rapidly rotating said turbine. The unspent portion of the pressure next passes through the second passage 34 and rotates the low pressure turbine, the two turbines driving the main shaft 39 of the engine and the cam shaftv 7, as hiereinbefore described. The piston is heldstationary in its advanced position until the full effect of the explosion is utilized, whereupon it is' returned to its initial position and draws in another charge of fuel, and so on throughout the operation of the engine.

By this construction, rotary motion is imparted to the driving shaft without the use of the customary crank shaft, which is more or less subject to breakage as well as overheating and burning out of its bearings.

.These objections are overcome by the con- StILICtIOILhGIBlH shown and described. The

engine affords the further important ad vantage of high speed combined with a relatively small consumption of fuel, especially adapting it to aeroplanes where safety and high speed are primary considerations.

The power received by the low-speed turbine is about one-half that exerted upon the high speed turbine, and as the latter makes two revolutions for each revolution of the former, these wheels are geared together accordingly, as shown, in the drawings.

The cam shaft 7 is preferably so geared that the piston is retained in its forward position during the timethat the high speed turbine makes about five revolutions, in order to obtain the full benefit of the expansion of the exploded gas. The gear ratio shown in the drawings may however be changed and the construction of the parts may be otherwise modified, within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from my invention.

It will be noted that the turbine shafts are separate from the cam shaft 7 which receives the shock orthrust incident to the explosions in the engine cylinder.

The turbine-shafts are thereby largely relieved from such jars and strains and their bearings are relieved from-undue wear.

I claim as my invention:

1. In an internal combustion engine,the combination of acylinde'r having a fuel in let and an exhaust passage, a piston in said cylinder, actuating mechanism for the piston including means for holding it stationary during the explosion of the fuel-charge, a turbine-casing, a turbine in said casing, said casing having spaced internal abutments arranged in close proximity to the periphery of the turbine, said exhaust passage leading into said casin adjacent to one of said abutments, a discharge passage leading from the casing adjacent to the other abutment, and means for transmitting motion from said turbine to said actuating mechanism.

2. In an internal combustion engine, the combination of a cylinder having a fuel inlet and an exhaust passage, a piston in said cylinder, actuating mechanism for the piston including means for holding it stationary during the explosion of the fuel-charge,

high and low pressure casings connected by a pressure passage, turbines arranged in said casings, said .h gh'. pressure casingcontaming spaced abutments arranged in close proximity to the periphery of the corresponding turbine and located adjacent to said exhaust passage and pressure passage, respectively, said low pressure casing having an exhaust passage and containing similar abutments arranged adjacent to said pressure passage and exhaust passages, respectively, and means for transmitting motion from said turbines to. said actuating mechanism. V

" FRED ROMBACH. 

